Federal lawsuit reveals Byrnes Mill government corruption

(KMOV.com) – Accusations of government corruption came to light after a federal lawsuit was filed by the town’s police chief.

Michael Smith was the Byrnes Mills police officer for six years and served as interim chief when he was fired in March. In the lawsuit, he accuses city administrators of setting ticket quotas for police, telling them not to investigate drug crimes, not to conduct DUI checkpoints and to not to write tickets to certain individuals.

“We have a great community. It’s a great place to live and we’ll continue to keep it that way,” said city administrator Larry Perney.

The mayor is accused of fixing traffic tickets. There are also allegations that city employees altered documents for municipal court cases. But the city is confident in the outcomes of the allegations.

“It could be damaging, but in the end the truth will come out,” said Perney.

In the lawsuit, Smith said he reported these allegations to other elected officials, but they took no action. It is up to the federal court to decide if the allegations have any merit.